Jeffrey Bossert Clark

Credentials

J.D. Georgetown University Law Center (1995)¹
M.A., Urban Affairs and Public Policy, University of Delaware (1992).²
A.B., Economics & History, Harvard University (1989).³

Background

Jeffrey Bossert Clark is a former top environmental official at the U.S. Department of Justice, former partner at the law firm Kirkland & Ellis LLP, and former adjunct law professor at George Mason University.⁴

President Donald Trump nominated Clark to become the Justice Department’s Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources in 2017. The Senate confirmed him in October 2018.⁵

While at Kirkland & Ellis, Clark defended BP in lawsuits against the company following 2010’s Deepwater Horizon oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. He also represented the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in cases challenging the federal government’s authority to regulate carbon emissions.⁶

According to his 2018 LinkedIn profile, Clark was a deputy assistant attorney general in the U.S. Department of Justice from 2001-2005, clerked for U.S. Appeals Court Judge Danny Boggs from 1995-1996, was a summer associate at Arnold & Porter in 1994, and was a tax policy analyst for the Delaware Division of Revenue from 1990-1992.⁷

Kirkland & Ellis LLP

Since Clark joined Kirkland & Ellis in 2005, some of the firms higlighted as “representative clients” on the firm’s website have been:

View a more complete client listing here (.xlsx).

Stance on Climate Change

Responding to questioning about climate science from Senator Diane Feinstein during his nomination hearing, Clark responded:⁸

“It is my understanding that there are a variety of veiwpoints in the scientific community regarding global warming.”⁹

Key Quotes

April 28, 2010

“When did America risk coming to be ruled by foreign scientists and apparatchiks at the United Nations?” Clark asked in a 2010 PJ Media blog post, “Can the EPA Rely on UN Science?,” about the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 2009 “endangerment finding” that greenhouse gas emissions are pollutants that threaten public health and welfare.¹⁰

November 20, 2010

Speaking at a Federalist Society event, Clark described Obama administration policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as “reminiscent of kind of a Leninistic program from the 1920s to seize control of the commanding heights of the economy.” Video below:¹¹

2007

In an appearance at the American Enterprise Institute, Jeffrey Bossert Clark said the Supreme Court had “erred most significantly” when it ruled in 2007 that the Environmental Protection Agency had the authority to regulate carbon pollution under the Clean Air Act:¹²

“They wanted to be able to compel the agency to determine whether CO2 and other greenhouse gas emission were causing or contributing to climate change. They didn’t have that procedural right. At every possible turn, though, they attempted to pitch their case that way and it would seem the Supreme Court bought into that.”

Key Deeds

October 11, 2018

The Senate confirmed Jeffrey Bossert Clark to head the Justice Department’s environmental defense division.¹³

June 6, 2017

A White House press release announced Clark’s nomination to the position of Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources at the Justice Department.¹⁴ ¹⁵ ¹⁶

October 15, 2014

Clark was listed as a speaker at a Federalist Society “Global Warming” event on the topic of “environmental law & property rights,” sponsored by the group’s Florida Student Chapter.¹⁷

May 20, 2014

Clark moderated a Federalist Society event featuring then-Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, who spoke on “The Clean Air Act Section 111(d) Framework that Preserves States’ Rights.” The event was sponsored by the Federalist Society’s Environmental Law & Property Rights Practice Group.¹⁸

View video of the event below:¹⁹

January 29, 2013

Clark participated in an Environmental Law & Property Rights Practice Group Teleforum at the Federalist Society to discuss Massachusetts vs. EPA, the Supreme Court case regarding whether the Environmental Protection Agency had the authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions as pollutants. The session was moderated by Marlo Lewis, Jr. of the Competitive Enterprise Institute.²⁰

May 25, 2011

Clark participated in a Federalist Society panel discussion on “Legal and Policy Implications of the Obama Administration’s Effort to Regulate Greenhouse Gases.”²¹

November 20, 2010

Clark was a speaker at a Federalist Society event titled “Environmental Law: EPA: An Agency Gone Wild or Just Doing Its Job?” Video below:²²

October 8, 2010

Clark was a speaker at a Federalist Society event, sponsored by the Loyola-New Orleans Student Chapter, about “Cap & Trade and Massachusetts v. EPA.”²³

June 15, 2010

Clark was a speaker at a Federalist Society panel discussion on “Regulatory Authority in the EPA.”²⁴

“Should the EPA balance economic costs on one side, and benefits to health and the environment on the other side? Or are certain environmental or health hazards so dire that regulating them must be done at virtually any cost? On what type of information or science may the EPA rely in reaching its conclusions, deciding to regulate, and deciding how to regulate? These and other questions will be discussed by our panel of experts,” the event description read.²⁵

March 18, 2010

Clark was a speaker at a Federalist Society event titled “Climate Change Cap-and-Trade Legislation: Preserve, Conserve, & Steward OR Tax, Spend, & Control?” The event was hosted by the Boston University Student Chapter.²⁶

November 11, 2004

Clark was a speaker at the Federalist Society‘s 2004 National Lawyer’s convention. Clark spoke on a panel titled “Environmental Law: Turning Private Property into Public Trusts.”²⁷

Affiliations

Note: Some of the following information is taken from Jeffrey Bossert Clark’s archived LinkedIn profile, and has not been independently verified by DeSmog.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP — Partner since September 2005. ²⁸ ²⁹
George Mason University — Adjunct law professor (January 2000 – May 2009)³⁰
The Federalist Society — Presenter or guest expert at various events. Formerly listed as the Chairman of the Federalist Society Environmental Law & Property Rights Practice Group Executive Committee³¹

Jeffrey Bossert Clark on Linkedin — Note that this account no longer exists.

Publications

According to his profile at Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Jeffrey Bossert Clark has “written multiple articles,” as well as contributing to the following professional publications:³²

With Tefft Smith, co-authored the 1997 and 1998 update chapters on Restraints of Trade for the ABA‘s “Antitrust Law Developments 4th Edition”
Authored annual update to “Procedural Means of Enforcement under 42 U.S.C 1983,” 82 Geo. L. J. 1402 (1994)

Other Resources

“Jeffrey Bossert Clark” on Wikipedia

Resources

1
“Jeffrey Bossert Clark,” LinkedIn. Accessed October 29, 2018. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
2
“Jeffrey Bossert Clark,” LinkedIn. Accessed October 29, 2018. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
3
“Jeffrey Bossert Clark,” LinkedIn. Accessed October 29, 2018. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
4
“Jeffrey Bossert Clark – Partner,” Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Archived October 29, 2018. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/qvlZd
5
(Press Release). “Attorney General Jeff Sessions Welcomes Jeffrey Clark as Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division,” The United States Department of Justice, October 11, 2018. Archived October 29, 2018. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/ObQaO
6
Marianne Lavelle, John Cushman, Jr. “Trump Names BP Oil Spill Lawyer, Climate Policy Foe as Top DOJ Environment Attorney,” Inside Climate News, June 6, 2017. Archived April 16, 2019. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/jyYUU
7
“Jeffrey Bossert Clark,” LinkedIn. Accessed October 29, 2018. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
8
“Questions for the Record, Jeffrey B. Clark, Nominee to be Assistant Attorney General of the Environment and Natural Resources Division.” GlobalWarming.org. AccessedMay 1, 2019. Archived May 1, 2019. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
9
“Questions for the Record, Jeffrey B. Clark, Nominee to be Assistant Attorney General of the Environment and Natural Resources Division.” GlobalWarming.org. AccessedMay 1, 2019. Archived May 1, 2019. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
10
Jeffrey Bossert Clark. “Can the EPA Rely on UN Science?” PJ Media, April 28, 2010. Archived October 29, 2018. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/k52bV
11
“EPA: An Agency Gone Wild or Just Doing Its Job? 11-20-10,” YouTube video uploaded by user “The Federalist Society,” December 7, 2010. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.
12
Marianne Lavelle, John Cushman, Jr. “Trump Names BP Oil Spill Lawyer, Climate Policy Foe as Top DOJ Environment Attorney,” Inside Climate News, June 6, 2017. Archived April 16, 2019. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/jyYUU
13
Timothy Cama. “Senate confirms climate skeptic to head DOJ environment office,” The Hill, October 11, 2018. Archived October 29, 2018. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/2pqoJ
14
(Press Release). “President Donald J. Trump Announces Key Additions to his Administration,” WhiteHouse.gov, June 6, 2017. Archived October 29, 2018. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/cvxYd
15
“Senate Confirms BP Oil Spill Lawyer, Climate Policy Foe as Government’s Top Environment Attorney,” InsideClimate News, October 11, 2018. Archived October 29, 2018. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/pwdUI
16
“BP’s defense attorney for oil spill confirmed by Senate to become nation’s top environmental lawyer,” ThinkProgress, October 11, 2018. Archived October 29, 2018. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/vtsUw
17
“Global Warming,” The Federalist Society, October 15, 2014. Archived October 29, 2018. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/lwxYc
18
“Scott Pruitt Presents ‘The Oklahoma Attorney General’s Plan: The Clean Air Act Section 111(d) Framework that Preserves States’ Rights’,” The Federalist Society, May 20, 2014. Archived October 29, 2018. Archvie.fo URL: https://archive.fo/WLDiO
19
“The Oklahoma Attorney General’s Plan: The Clean Air Act Section 111(d) Framework that Preserves States’ Rights – Event Audio/Video,” The Federalist Society, May 23, 2014. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.
20
“Greenhouse Gases: Massachusetts v. EPA Revisited,” The Federalist Society, January 29, 2013. Archived October 29, 2018. Archvie.fo URL: https://archive.fo/9G0P1
21
“Legal and Policy Implications of the Obama Administration’s Effort to Regulate Greenhouse Gases,” The Federalist Society, May 25, 2011. Archived October 29, 2018. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/Qr8is
22
“EPA: An Agency Gone Wild or Just Doing Its Job? – Event Audio/Video,” The Federalist Society, November 20, 2010. Archived October 29, 2018. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/2NO93
23
“Cap & Trade and Massachusetts v. EPA,“ The Federalist Society, October 8, 2010. Archived October 29, 2018. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/zgOjb
24
“Regulatory Authority in the EPA,” The Federalist Society, June 15, 2010. Archived October 29, 2018, Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/AaZwf
25
“Regulatory Authority in the EPA,” The Federalist Society, June 15, 2010. Archived October 29, 2018, Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/AaZwf
26
“Climate Change Cap-and-Trade Legislation: Preserve, Conserve, & Steward OR Tax, Spend, & Control?” The Federalist Society, March 18, 2010. Archived October 29, 2018, Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/4fVzD
27
“2004 National Lawyers Convention,” The Federalist Society, November 11, 2004. Archived October 29, 2018, Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/wpMSm
28
“Jeffrey Bossert Clark,” LinkedIn. Accessed October 29, 2018. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
29
“Jeffrey Bossert Clark,” The Federalist Society. Archived March 29, 2023.
30
“Jeffrey Bossert Clark,” LinkedIn. Accessed October 29, 2018. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
31
“Scott Pruitt Presents ‘The Oklahoma Attorney General’s Plan: The Clean Air Act Section 111(d) Framework that Preserves States’ Rights’,” The Federalist Society, May 20, 2014. Archived October 29, 2018. Archvie.fo URL: https://archive.fo/WLDiO
32
“Jeffrey Bossert Clark – Partner,” Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Archived October 29, 2018. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/qvlZd

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